For as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved moving and whirling about. Whether it was tumbling in my backyard or dancing, I was either watching it or doing it. I moved to New York City to pursue dancing, and a yoga practice was always alongside it. I resisted teaching for a time because I felt the practice was too personal to share. But eventually I found myself on the other side of the coin – and wanting to share. That switch was in part inspired by my incredible yoga teachers, the first of whom was Blaine; with his long curly hair and welcoming smile, he made even a shy skeptic like me feel warm and welcomed. There was also Sharon Gannon, David Life, Gurmukh, Schuyler Grant and many others. All together, I have trained over 1200 hours.

My family’s wisdom and heart has infused my journey perhaps more than anything else. From defying my parents’ wishes of pursuing medicine or engineering to the passing of my mother many years ago, these two things hugely shaped how I continued to grow as an adult. Finding my voice in pursuing dance and yoga has only truly come together in recent years. And as devastating as my mother’s passing was, my heart did grow back, bigger and stronger. I’m much more grateful for the wonderful people in my life. Gratitude is essential for perspective in the ups and downs and struggles of life.

I’ve been teaching for over fifteen years in New York and around the world. I especially enjoy training new teachers, which I’ve been doing since 2009. One thing that I’ve come to believe is most important in yoga or any spiritual practice is fostering one’s true self and igniting a genuine sense of love and compassion. A tool I find helpful in getting there is chanting. Helping students get over their initial discomfort around singing out loud and watching how their whole beings shift as they release into the joy of song is one of my favorite things. I’ve also recently completed training to work with the military community, specifically trauma and PTSD. I am drawn to this work because those that serve to protect us sacrifice so much and most of the time, come home to lots of red tape for any services they need.

My husband and I live outside NYC in the suburbs of New Jersey. I teach weekly classes at Yogavida in New York City and online at Yogavibes and Doyouyoga..